Awkward Elevator Ride (Part 2 of 2)

Posted on 04 Apr 2015 @ 7:16am by Petty Officer 3rd Class Ellsworth Hudson & Ensign K'os Beaumont & Commander Andreus Kohl

3,049 words; about a 15 minute read

Mission: Episode 08 - NIMBUS
Location: USS Galileo - Turbolift Car Two
Timeline: MD 01 - 1615 hours

Previously on Awkward Elevator Ride, Part 1:

K'os studied the expression on Ellsworth's face, and without the connection between them anymore, he misinterpreted it. He suddenly felt as if he'd interrupted something. His grey-blue eyes flicked to Kohl's face then back to Ellsworth, as if undecided who he should look at. It was too soon to be this close to each other, and he didn't want to tempt their addictions. They were supposed to be on the road to recovery. It was perfectly logical for him to assume that Ellsworth's recovery might involve sex with Kohl. To anyone that didn't know him, his face must have looked bizarre as he went through many different expressions in rapid succession. His mind cascaded emotions as if it were trying to settle on just one, but instead decided to emote them all. "I should leave." He said more to himself before settling his eyes on Kohl and asked rhetorically, "Should I leave?" He didn't allow an answer before he swiveled his head around like he was looking for an exit that should have been there.

"I didn't mean to interrupt anything," K'os implored to Kohl for understanding and his tone had changed. He didn't feel jealousy, or even spite, but embarrassment that he might have intruded on a private moment between the two. Allyndra had told him to stay away from Ellsworth, not jump in a turbolift with him and the man K'os was crushing on. Why was Ellsworth looking at him like that? He knew the two men's history intimately from the melded memories he had taken from the Betazoid, and his imagination began to run a little wild as his emotions tornado-ed about. Were they making out? Had they planned a hook-up? Did I push them back together when I revealed to Kohl I had the memory of their intimate times together? "Dammit," he said loudly in frustration at himself after realizing his cheeks were wet and he roughly rubbed at at them with the back of his hand. He was crying a lot more these days, and the frustration on his face showed. He opened his mouth to explain himself, but was unsure how to relay that he wasn't crazy.

And now, the conclusion!


[ON]

In a reassuring timbre, Kohl said, "K'os, K'os, we're standing in a turbolift." He gently pressed a palm against K'os' chest, willing him to be still. To abandon thoughts of escape. "All you've interrupted is my journey to the transporter room, and Ellsworth's--" Kohl shrugged and looked over to the younger Betazoid. "Did you even request a destination?" Kohl asked.

"No," Ellsworth replied, sounding hollow.

He couldn't even recall his destination; the only thing that came to mind was 'off this ship.' He shut his eyes first and then his mind, or at least made an effort. Even if they were generally of his choosing, K'os was almost always an intense rage of emotions, and Ellsworth had always enjoyed the emotional surfing of tapping into it and feeling it rushing all around him. Except now it was like being in a confined space with a telepathic typhoon, deafening and overwhelming and frightening.

And, too, there was the temptation. The thought of it made his eyes squeeze tighter. He spent most of his time convincing himself he didn't want it, but now that he was in such close proximity he wasn't sure. Was it temptation for temptation's sake? Sometimes you wanted something because it was a temptation, not necessarily because you actually wanted it. But sometimes you wanted something because you wanted it. Needed it. Desired it. Because you could remember the liquid fire in your veins and the sickening feeling between hits. K'os had the luxury of an immediate, effective treatment whereas Ellsworth was subject to a longer-term approach, the rearrangement of synapses in his paracortex through medicine and therapeutic intervention. It was a process that could easily be halted, reset, or even reversed. All he had to do was reach out-

"Deck 6, Operations Office," Ellsworth croaked, loudly and suddenly.

The hand on K'os' chest was exactly what he needed. It grounded him in the way Toor had shown him. With Kohl's touch it was also reassuring. He leaned slightly into it to feel the pressure of his hand. No doubt Kohl would feel his fast beating heart and the trembling of his body. It was unclear to the hybrid if Kohl consciously knew it would ground him through the surreal cacophony of his emotional cascade or not, but it certainly worked. It allowed him that one moment needed to focus on control rather than escape. His breathing calmed, but his unusually high blood pressure that Allyndra had warned him of kept his heart elevated. With another deep breath he stilled his emotions and like a laser beam, sought out only one single emotion. Contentment. More for Ellsworth's sake than anything. He reached up to his chest and squeezed Kohl's hand slightly to reassure him he was in control again. He mouthed 'thank you', and while being a simple gesture, it was his wet eyes that reflected the most appreciation.

"I'm sorry Ellsworth." He remained focused briefly on Kohl's sapphire eyes before looking to the Betazoid. "I was taken by surprise. It won't always be like this, we just need more time." He flashed a reassuring, and warm smile towards him.

Ellsworth opened his eyes again just in time to see the smile, which made him wish he'd kept them closed just a little bit longer. The look of it didn't make him aroused or flustered or even speak to the danger of the bond they'd shared. Instead, it reminded him of the early days and the beach and the very happy friendship of two very happy people. K'os had been a friend first, and he missed it, even as he knew that if it ever came again it was far distant. But seeing him so exuberant with Kohl in the here and now made him jealous and envious, adding to the already mixed feelings he had about the officer.

"It's okay, I know. Just a little more time. I'm sorry, I've been trying to pay attention," the quartermaster mumbled, trying to explain his efforts to make sure they avoided one another. He shot Kohl an apologetic look, too, and then found something deeply interesting on the floor.

Kohl, meanwhile, had allowed his hand to drop from K'os' chest. Shamelessly, he allowed his palm to drag down K'os' abdomen. Kohl shuffled again, taking up position away from the doorway. He felt as need to create space between himself and the boys. With their intense, intertwined history, Kohl felt as if he were intruding on their moment together. All the same, that feeling didn't cause him to look away or pretend to ignore them. "I hope you both will keep working on snatching up invitations to tonight's gala on the Klingon flagship," Kohl said with some enthusiasm. His own side-effects from his own treatment continued to give him the thrill of adrenaline. "Dining with Klingons is the perfect opportunity to behave boorish and bawdy in Starfleet uniforms."

K'os took a deep breath at the sensation of Kohl's hand running down his abs, but denied himself the lustful feeling it normally would have generated. One of K'os' favourite things about Kohl was his spontaneous ability to know when to add levity to a conversation. It made dimpled cheeks appear as he grinned widely and his mood instantly followed with the flow; the way it had during their subspace chat. He poked Kohl in the stomach with a finger, "For you two maybe." He threw his head back in a hearty laugh. "I've never acted boorish or bawdy in my life." He whirled around in a circle playfully before settling his back against one of the walls of the lift so he could look at both of them. "I want to go for the bloodwine and the food!" He rested the back of his head on the wall and took on a dreamy look. "I've even memorized two Klingon drinking songs for the occasion."

Ellsworth watched them poking and proding at each other and tried to keep an even keel when all he really wanted to do was bludgeon Kohl and tell K'os to stop bouncing around like some adolescent with a schoolboy crush. Seeing that huge dimpled grin did nothing but reinforce his nostalgic connection to the distant past. It was the very same look he'd had on his face as he hovered in front of Ellsworth in the Pacific Ocean, holding a crown of seaweed with which to crown him. I dub you, Slow Sally Seaweed. His stomach twisted, he made an exasperated sound, and his eyes rolled over his own traitorous brain, though it probably seemed much more like a reaction to the scene unfolding in the turbolift.

K'os was just about to say something else when he caught the eye roll from Ellsworth and closed his mouth instead. His cheeks burned a bit red and he instead focused his eyes on Kohl's feet. He suddenly wasn't sure how to act around the two of them together. He wanted to flirt and talk with Kohl, but at the same time the feral urge to embrace Ellsworth again was a stark reminder of his condition.

"And you, Ellsworth?" prompted Kohl, as the weight of the awkward glances were grinding the conversation a halt. He turned on the puppy dog eyes and directed them at Ells. Their brief courtship had been a passionate --and sometimes violent-- struggle for dominance, which left a steely undercurrent to Kohl's gaze. His sapphire eyes alone were demanding Ellsworth's attention, even if his timbre was light and casual. "Have you any prospects for partying with the Klingons?"

"Not unless you're asking me," Ellsworth said, almost through clenched teeth. In the span of only a few moments he'd gone from being offended by the question to feeling the need to assert himself to wishing he had never stepped foot on this turbolift. If K'os wasn't with them then he would have given in to the weeks long buildup of sexual tension in order to shut Kohl up properly. Something about his haughty accent and vocabulary made him seem so damn smarmy sometimes and on more than one occasion Ellsworth had wanted to shut him up by occupying his mouth with something other than talking. But, K'os was with them. And his presence - the mere thought of him - was like someone picking at painful, sore stitches, making him think twice about leaving the single statement hanging in the air. "I haven't really been mingling very much lately, all things considered, so... I guess I probably won't be there."

An hour ago, a day ago, five minutes ago, Kohl would have invited Ellsworth to the Klingon gala without a blinks-length of hesitation. He would have been thrilled to walk in on Ells' arm, to share a meal with him, and he would have physically dragged Ellsworth off to a private compartment to have Klingon-style sex. K'os' presence wasn't about to deter Kohl from asking Ellsworth out; K'os had told him their past was in the past. However, all Kohl could imagine in this moment was Ellsworth pouting like a petulant child for the entire evening aboard the Klingon flagship.

"Okay," was all Kohl said blandly. Shortly after, the turbolift slowed to a halt and the doors opened on deck two. Looking out, Kohl could see the doors to the transporter room across the passageway. He nodded to both men perfunctorily, and he said, "Take care."

K'os watched as his friend left the turbolift with nothing more than a 'take care' and his face scrunched up in concern. Instinctively, his eyes shot towards Ellsworth, then back to Kohl as he strode down the corridor. In his mind, staying in the turbolift any longer was in violation of Allyndra's recommendation. More than anything though, the idea of Kohl walking away like that put an empty feeling in his stomach. He'd been waiting and waiting to get the courage to say what he wanted to Kohl and he was letting the perfect opportunity go. He made one last look at Ellsworth. K'os' eyes reflected sympathy, but also a reminder that they were not to be alone together anymore. With a a deep breath and his mind firmly made up, he stepped out of the lift before the doors could close. He was determined to let Ellsworth go, and that wasn't going to change. Leaving was just another gesture towards that end. He very quickly caught up with Kohl and reached out to gently touch his shoulder. "Andreus." He said in a quiet voice.

At the sound of K'os' voice, Kohl spun around to face him. "Remind me... For how many weeks did you put up with... all of that?" Kohl asked, full of incredulity and nervous energy. He corkscrewed his outstretched index finger in the direction of the closed turbolift doors. "Because you deserve a medal, my friend. Let me pin it on you myself."

Having only known Kohl to be nothing but warm with him, K'os visibly flinched at his tone. The man seemed more agitated than he usually was but it was typical of the young man to think that somehow he had caused things to sour or go wrong in some way. His hand had remained on Kohl's shoulder and he rubbed it reassuringly back and forth as he spoke. "He was never like that with me," He shrugged. "I think he just needs more time to work things through and get back to being normal." K'os' eyes remained fixed on Kohl's face. "But I don't want to talk about Ellsworth, Andreus, I--"

What did K'os want? He certainly didn't want their interaction to end this way. He couldn't handle just having Kohl walk away like this, with a curt goodbye and filled with annoyance or perhaps resentment. Not after their recent subspace conversation. Not after the happiness that should be shared regarding Kohl's treatment success. It was certainly time for K'os to think about his own wishes, and perhaps his desires. To carry on with his life. Helping Ellsworth was up to Oren now, not anyone else.

K'os' hand had moved from Kohl's shoulder to his chest. A move that had surprised the young hybrid. It had been a long time -- such a long time -- since he'd touched anyone in this way and it made his heart beat hard within his chest. He wished he could be like Ellsworth; free spirited and sexual. He wished he could just reach out to Kohl and take what he desired. He cleared his throat, and with renewed courage said, "I...just wanted to know," K'os licked his lips, "if you had a date to the gala yet?"

Back in the turbolift, Ellsworth had urged it to resume movement; the computer had detected the absence of a passenger who never provided a destination and so seemed to be waiting either for his return or input from the remaining passenger. The fact that it had stayed around half a moment more than was necessary had annoyed Ellsworth, particularly as it had allowed him to catch snippets of Kohl's commentary on 'all of that.' It wasn't exactly a hidden opinion, but there was a difference, particularly in a Betazoid's way of thinking, between an opinion in one's mind and an opinion one decided to voice aloud; one stung significantly more than the other.

Now that the turbolift was moving again, he seemed visibly relieved. And increasingly so, too, as the physical distance between himself and K'os grew and Andreus faded to the back of his memory. He tried a mindfulness technique to calm and center himself but failed miserably; the receptor suppressant Sickbay administered as part of the addiction treatment process seemed to be having an effect not only on his ability to project his mind but also the general sense of control he was accustomed to. He couldn't will his mind to think about something else other than his current predicament, so he willed it to think about nothing at all instead. He slid down into a certain pervasive numbness and stared at the chronometer on the far wall, calculating the time until his shift ended, the necessary tasks that needed to be accomplished after duty, and at what point he could reasonably fall into the sleep that allowed him to escape himself.

Meanwhile, in a corridor on deck two, Kohl folded both his hands over the hand on his chest. His eyes wide, he looked back at K'os with a new sense of recognition. Kohl nodded once, and nodded again. "Yes," Kohl said encouragingly, "It appears I have a date with that petty officer from engineering. You know the one. The one with the dimples."

K'os couldn't hide his dopey tight-lipped grin even if he tried. It beamed so wide he knew his cheeks would start to tire from it. The hyper-emotionalism of his mind made his body vibrate slightly with excitement. "That, Mr. Kohl, was decidedly easier than the scenario I ran in my head." His free hand reached up and ran his fingers through Kohl's hair on the side of his head; which ruffled it out of place. He smoothed the errant strands of hair with his knuckles, very conscious not to activate his touch telepathy. As badly as he wanted to know what emotions swirled around in the man's head, he left his privacy intact. He let that hand settle on Kohl's shoulder while keeping the other firmly under Kohl's grasp.

In return, Kohl angled his head to move with K'os' touch, and maintain the contact as long as possible. Only after considering his words, Kohl fixed K'os with a taunting pout of accusation. Cautiously, Kohl asked, "Your scenario didn't involve a hyperspanner, did it?"


[OFF]


PO3 K'os Beaumont
Engineer's Mate
USS Galileo

Lieutenant Commander Andreus Kohl
Executive Officer
USS Nautilus

PO3 Ellsworth Hudson
Quartermaster
USS Galileo

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